SnowDrift Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 Has anyone here done this and if so, what was your experience with it? Specifically, I'm talking about the 5 spoke aluminum wheels that would come on a '95 GTP painted silver in color. I have given thought to stripping and polishing them, but I'm not sure what is under the paint and don't want to ruin a good set of wheels if they'll be impossible to polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jman093 Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 It can definitely be done, it's a LOT of work. Have to sand all the clear coat to get to the metal and then polish the wheels. Then they'll likely need re-clear coated or you'll be polishing them over and over to keep the shine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeremy Posted April 18, 2009 Report Share Posted April 18, 2009 aircraft stripper+ LOTS of polishing will make them look good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrift Posted April 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 It can definitely be done, it's a LOT of work. Have to sand all the clear coat to get to the metal and then polish the wheels. Then they'll likely need re-clear coated or you'll be polishing them over and over to keep the shine. They're painted, not clear coated. I don't mind polishing, really. I wash the wheels on my wife's Suburban every night in the winter to keep them from getting dull. I can usually go 6-7 years without polishing them by doing this. Have you done this, yourself? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SnowDrift Posted April 19, 2009 Author Report Share Posted April 19, 2009 aircraft stripper+ LOTS of polishing will make them look good Are you talking polishing with a buffing wheel or by hand like I usually polish my aluminum wheels? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1tinindian Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'm in the process of doing just this, and the paint stripper still doesn't get ALL the paint off the wheels. And be prepared to do ALOT of sanding to get the aluminium smooth enough to polish. These wheels appear to have been left a rough cast finish, then a think primer was applied to smooth things over before they were painted. I could have had TWO sets of other wheels done in the time its taking me to sand these down. It can be done, and I plan on going through with it, but its going to be a long time before they are done. Leon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'd see if you can get them soda blasted. it will clean them up and smooth them out a bit to make it easier to polish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1tinindian Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 I'd see if you can get them soda blasted. it will clean them up and smooth them out a bit to make it easier to polish. They would still need to be heavily sanded, Adam. If you've never seen them completly bare metal, its hard to understand how much work is still needed after the paint is removed. These suckers are as rough as a cob, and that's putting it mildly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AWeb80 Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 Oh Yes. I know what you're talking about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tdvs Posted April 28, 2009 Report Share Posted April 28, 2009 Would the 5 spokes on the Cutlass be the same to polish? Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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